We are dreaming of spending Christmas in Paris. By train, it’s 30 minutes from Auxonne to Dijon – and then 90 minutes from Dijon to Paris on the TGV. But we want to do it by barge. That will take slightly longer.
It would probably take four weeks if we cruised 20 km. every day and didn’t stop to sight-see. So, more likely at least six weeks to get there. But we plan to do it. Perhaps, finding a few pâtisseries along the way.
The marina, Arsenal, is in the heart of Paris – at the base of Place de la Bastille. Beside being a marina, it is also a gorgeous park. A vibrant, beautiful city with our home moored smack in the middle of it. No date set yet.
The fellow we bought Aleau from has a new barge – identical to Aleau but slightly longer. If you didn’t know, you’d swear they were the same. His new one is called Leander (at the bottom of the photo below) – and he has already spent Christmas in Paris on it. It can be done.
At the south end of the Arsenal marina, where longer barges such as Aleau moor, is a lock that leads onto the Seine.
At the north end, where the cruisers moor, is a tunnel that passes under Place de la Bastille and leads to the Canal St. Martin.
Canal St. Martin passes through neighbourhoods, traffic whizzing by on either side, pedestrian bridges overhead, and turntable bridges for cars (to the left of the traffic light in the shot below). And yes, there are locks along the Canal St. Martin, too.
Or, maybe, we could moor on the Seine itself?
